The Story of Edenic from 100,000 Feet
The story of how Zach and Ash decided to sell smoothies out of a school bus together.
“Remember when we got married? We barely knew each other.” – Ashley Plahn
It is 6:30am on a quiet Saturday morning. The full moon is glaring at me through our bedroom blinds. Shuffling across the kitchen floor, I hear Ashley turn on the heater and start preparing for the busy day ahead.
Ash sells smoothies. She sells smoothies out of a renovated school bus. She sells smoothies that taste delicious and make your tummy feel mighty fine… How did Ashley end up with this story-book gig, selling smoothies from a renovated school bus? What’s her secret ingredient? (Get it?)
Ash and I started dating on February 14th, 2021. For those of you keeping track, that would be Valentine’s Day, 2021. A first date on Valentine’s Day? Sounds like a recipe for disaster if you ask me. (I can do this all day.) Thankfully, we ended up liking each other. A lot. Within two months, I told Ash I wanted to marry her. I proposed to her on May 16th that year, and we were married on August 1st – a whopping 6 months, and boy were they looooong.
I couldn’t have waited a moment longer. She is the definition of sublime. She is my all.
After spending 2 years in the aerospace industry, Ash quit the space race and was on the hunt for a new job. Selling satellite radios wasn’t exactly her passion, if you will. While we were on our honeymoon, I asked her, “If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?”
“Anything?” she asked.
“Anything.”
“I’d want to start a smoothie truck,” she replied with a tentative smile. I told her to take 3 weeks and give me a business pitch. I knew her smoothies were delicious. She had made me many before. The question my accounting background kept asking was, would the numbers work?
3 weeks later, Ash gave me a business pitch at our breakfast table. It was solid. The numbers did work. She had a very reasonable plan to make money and help pay rent. We could start a business together. Though she would never admit this to you, Ash was very successful in the corporate world. When she quit, her bosses wanted her to stay so badly that they basically offered her a blank check to stay. But would you stay in the corporate aerospace world if you could start a smoothie bus? Nah, me neither.
Less than two weeks later, we had found the perfect vehicle. In solid condition and abundantly loaded with character, it was even Ash’s favorite color. Here’s a picture of us kids, married for 45 days, buying a used, 1994 GMC Vandura School Bus from Dustin in Paso Robles. Craigslist can work wonders.
Then, the dream became reality. However, the reality of converting a 1994 school bus into a Ventura County Health Department approved Mobile Food Facility is… kind of a nightmare. With the help of treasured friends and family, especially my beloved father-in-law, Jerry, the various projects began to bear fruit. Ash replaced the floors, painted inside and outside, installed plumbing, learned how to install electric components, bought fridges, freezers, water-heaters… I get tired just making this list. Making a smoothie bus doesn’t require smiles and smoothies alone. It quite literally requires blood, sweat, and (plenty of) tears.
Finally, after 4 months of grueling work, the health department made our life super easy and we passed right away - just kidding. They gave us a list of minor issues to correct, so Ash went back the next week and… drum rolllllllll… she passed! Ash was ready to sell some smoothies to our beloved community of Ventura.
That’s our story from a 100,000 foot view. Edenic Smoothies has been open for two weeks now. It has been a roller coaster of a ride in every sense of the phrase. The highs are inspiring and exhilarating. The lows build our character.
Through it all, God has smiled upon us. Any success we have is a result of His provision and abundance.
We are thankful for you all – our friends, family, and the encouraging, smoothie-drinking strangers we get to serve. We’ve been getting to serve you for two weeks. Here’s to many more.
Next Week - Edenic: What on Earth Does it Mean?